AUSTRALIA
The Sydney Morning Herald
February 15, 2018
By John Warhurst
The Catholic Church is a wealthy institution, but Archbishop Anthony Fisher is right that to compare its type of wealth to that of Westfield or Wesfarmers is crude and simplistic. Nevertheless, that wealth, however calculated, stands in stark contrast to the resistance and mean-spiritedness that, it has now been demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt, has characterised its leaders’ treatment of those who were sexually abused while in the church’s care.
This injustice has compounded the crimes that happened on its watch and its criminal cover-ups. Most of the victims were Catholics themselves at the time.
There is another disjunction that troubles many Catholics. The rhythm of church life experienced by most ordinary Catholics is not one of great wealth, but of local fund-raising and donations to church causes. This month, there are two major church-related campaigns: the Vinnies annual doorknock appeal and the Project Compassion annual Lenten appeal to support the church’s international aid and development arm, Caritas Australia. Last year, Project Compassion raised $359,000 in Canberra-Goulburn alone.
This disjunction between the hurt that has been done under the church’s name and the demands made on ordinary Catholics is one reason for the growing bewilderment and lack of trust that is now sweeping the church. The National Church Life Survey, conducted across 20 denominations, has reported that 48 per cent of Catholic respondents agreed (only 34 per cent disagreed) that sexual abuse by clergy had damaged their confidence in church authorities.
In the past, Catholics were mainly loyal and hard-working subjects rather than informed and vocal citizens within their own church. Bewilderment and lack of trust is now turning belatedly to activism and demands for renewal of church governance and structures, as well as for the transparency and accountability rightly demanded by the community at large. It remains to be seen whether the church’s authorities are really listening.
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